Corporate Change a Process Not an Event

“If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.”- Kurt Lewin

It is a sad fact that nearly 80 per cent of all major change initiatives fail. Research into the cause point to people not accepting and adopting change as the single greatest obstacle to success.

In 1932, Kurt Lewin, a renowned academic who fled Nazi Germany, proposed a host of new ideas on human behaviour, its formation and its consistency. Through many studies and applications he evolved a very simple model for changing the way people think and act. Eventually the model became known as the three-phase model: unfreezing, transformation and refreezing.

Unfreezing refers to the idea of shocking a system out of complacency. It means creating awareness and understanding the status quo is no longer sufficient and that trying to maintain things as they are, or return to the “good old days” won’t work. It is amazing how that advice is so relevant in today’s organizational setting.

Transformation, the process of making purposeful adjustments to the way one operates, according to Lewin, will only take place after the status quo has been altered.

Refreezing refers to the process of making the adjustments to the system part of “the way we do things around here.”

Many books have been written about how to actually transform an organization and many of them can be traced to Lewin. They have borrowed and built upon his work, developing sophisticated models for change at both the individual and organizational levels.

The conclusion one can draw from the wealth of literature and advice on how to transform an organization is that, in truth, there is no single right approach for tackling change. However, there are some general principles that, based on the issues at hand, tend to work better than others.

Change as a process, not an event, is the first example of a principle that seems to be effective. At the heart of this principle is the belief that change requires a process for converting the behaviour of key groups of people. By anticipating and organizing the tactics necessary to convert behaviours, an organization will minimize the time, dollars, energy and loss in productivity caused by change and upheaval.

A second principle is that stakeholder involvement is necessary but not sufficient. Ensuring those affected by the change have a voice in the process is an effective means of achieving acceptance and support. However, it is unreasonable to assume all employees can participate in every decision, particularly the more strategic choices that should quite properly be in the hands of the leadership team.

A third principle is that communication is critical to successful change. In a situation of rapid change and upheaval, where old rules don’t apply and new rules have not been created, people need reassurance that someone is in charge, that someone knows where the organization is headed and has a plan to get there.

Change is, therefore, dependent on the organization’s willingness and ability to communicate the process, the decision rationale, and the projected impact of decisions on individuals and groups.

The final principle is to understand that a sense of urgency is good, but a feeling of anxiety is bad. Jolting people out of complacency is a necessary step in the change process. A sense of urgency is created when a threat and a solution are readily identifiable and results in channeling energy into useful behaviour. Anxiety is created when only the threat, either real or imagined, is identified.

Understanding these key principles will help ensure the level of commitment to the change increases and the level of resistance to the change decreases, a scenario that speaks to success.
 
 Article by David A. Bratton

Cross-Training as a motivational and problem-solving technique

Many managers, including human resources directors, mistakenly believe that employee motivation can be won through monetary rewards or other perks.  They learn soon enough that such perks are taken for granted and that money is not the key to employee motivation.  A professional and unified management, in a good work environment, is the basis on which to build employee motivation.

While high employee turnover reflects on low morale and lack of motivation, when seen from another angle, the absence turnover quickly results in de-motivation since the possibility of motion and forward-motion is taken away from employees.  It is against human nature to remain static, performing the same duties day in, day out, without expectations of change in routine or opportunities for advancement.  Following a reading or lecture on the subject, managers sometimes implement "job enrichment" in a misguided manner, adding un-rewarded responsibilities on the shoulders of their supervisors and employees.    This results in a feeling of exploitation and has the reverse of the intended effect.

An effective training technique which results in motivation is cross-training, when implemented horizontally, upward and downward. Department heads, assistants and employees can cross-train in different departments or within the department itself.  With background support, employees can have a  one day training in the role of department head ("King for the Day").  When a General Manager is away, department heads can take roles replacing him, which is a form of cross-training.

Cross-training should be carefully planned and presented as a learning opportunity.  It should be incorporated in a hotel's master yearly training plan, covering all positions and departments.  It should begin with supervisory level and filter down to entry-level positions.  Housekeeping should cross-train in Front Office and vice-versa;  Front Office in Marketing, Sales, Public Relations, Food & Beverage, Banquets, Security;  Marketing & Sales in Front Office, Food & Beverage, Purchasing; Food & Beverage Service in the Culinary department and vice versa;  Human Resources in different departments and vice versa.  

This technique achieves the following objectives:
 
     Prevents stagnation 
     Offers a learning and professional development opportunity
     Rejuvenates all departments   
     Improves understanding of the different departments and the hotel as a whole
     Leads to better coordination and teamwork 
     Erases differences, enmity and unhealthy competition
     Increases knowledge, know-how, skills and work performance
     Improves overall motivation
     Leads to the sharing of organizational goals and objectives.

Sending people to work in another department at a moment's notice is not what cross-training is about.  This has to be an effective planned process.  Employees must "buy" into the idea, be encouraged to give feedback and make suggestions for improvement.  They become "partners". Departmental communications meetings can be used to share lessons learned.  When employees think "the grass is greener on the other side of the lawn" they soon realize their mistake after exposure to other departments.  They return to their job with a better attitude.      

Cross-training can be used to "shake up" supervisors or employees who have lapsed into poor performance.  Upon being moved to a different position or department, albeit temporarily, they hear "warning bells", shape up and usually return to their positions as exemplary performers. 

Depending on the budget at hand and the objectives to be achieved, the time for cross-training can vary from one day to a week or more.  Details must be coordinated with the "receiving"  department head.  The trainee is incorporated within the department's activities for the duration of the cross-training (briefings, meetings, or obligations).

A more sophisticated form of cross-training is job rotation, which usually involves extended periods (from one month to six months).   With job rotation, the employee's role is of a different nature.  He is not considered as trainee, but is responsible over certain job functions, for which he  has to prove himself.

Both cross-training and job rotation create a team of workers who are more knowledgeable, can easily replace each other when needed and who gain new confidence regarding their professional expertise.  These two techniques lead to great motivation throughout the company.

Unionized properties face some difficulty in implementing such techniques due to the rigidity of Union policies and labour agreements.  It is up to management to win over Unions on this concept and convince them of the benefits to employees' careers.   Union representatives can be made to understand that company-wide cross-training involves substantial investment in time, effort and payroll.   The benefits, however, are enjoyed by the three main stakeholders:  employees, management and guests.   Employees enjoy the rewards of added know-how, skills,career opportunities and future security due to business success. 

 by Claire Belilos

"When all is said and done, more is said than done." (Lou Holtz)

Three frogs were sitting on a log. One decided to jump into the pond. How many were left? Did you answer two? Think again. You see, I didn't say one jumped in; I just said one DECIDED to jump in. It's not a technical point that I'm debating, but a sad fact of life. For there's a big difference between deciding to do something and actually doing it.

How many New Year resolutions did you decide to make that never came to pass? How many items on your ToDo list have just been lingering there, but never brought to life? A decision without action is no more powerful than indecision or no decision. Decisions are powerless unless we follow through. And when we follow through with action, we will be greeted with success. In fact, the etymological meaning of "succeed" is "that which follows," for success is what follows action.

Decisions without action are preparations for living without living. We need to act to experience life. We either make things happen or let things happen to us. Here's how Edward Rickenbacker (1842 ~ 1914) expressed why follow through is important, "There's a six-word formula for success: Think things through, then follow through."

Some people live as though their life credo is "Ready, Aim. Aim. Aim ." But once a decision is made, it is time for action. For as Theodore Roosevelt (1858 ~ 1919) said, "In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." After all, if we do the wrong thing, at least we can learn something from our mistake. But inaction teaches us nothing, other than regret.

Often, the cause of inaction is the fear of failure. But isn't it better to try to do something and fail than to try to do nothing and succeed? Consider for a moment the life of a lobster. When it grows to be about a pound, it faces a crisis. For it has grown too big for its shell. To continue living, it'll have to shed its shell and grow a new one. But this takes about two days. So, until then, it remains vulnerable to attack and being eaten. Yet, there is no choice. To continue living, it must risk life itself. We are no different, for life is synonymous with growth. To develop, we need to shed our limitations and grow new powers. To refuse to act doesn't protect us, but suffocates us.

Our decisions are the clay we use to make bricks. And our actions are the bricks we use to create ourselves. We also choose the material to work with. Whether it's shoddy or high quality is up to us. Consider this story (author unknown) that I'd like to share with you:

"An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck but he needed to retire. They could get by.

"The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked him if he would build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

"When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

"The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

"So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back."

Maya Angelou wrote, "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." We, too, are birds that have a song. Our song can be melodious, sweet, and jubilant or screechy, savage, and vapid. It all depends on our actions, for they are the notes of our song. Our song should be rapturous not only for our own good, but for the good of the world, for the world needs us. Here's how Martha Graham (1894 ~ 1991) elegantly makes this point:

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is on a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others." And I'd like to add that we should behave as if our actions make a difference because they do.

One of the complaints we usually make is that we do not have enough time to do everything we would like to. Of course, it's true that time is limited. But here is an interesting paradox: the more we do, the more we can do, and the busier we become, the more free time we create. If you experiment with this premise, you'll quickly discover how true it is.

The American Founder of Atari Computer, Nolan Bushnell, summarizes today's topic this way, "The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer." So, don't sit up and take notice, but get up and take action, for the secret of getting ahead is getting started.

by Chuck Gallozzi

Desire Is The Fire For Achieving Success  

If you really want something, you will get it!  It's true: desire is a powerful force that can't easily be stopped. Think about your goal, about what you want to achieve in life, and ask yourself the following questions:

Ø Do you really want to reach your goal?
Ø Do you want to reach your goal so badly you will never give up?
Ø What are you willing to sacrifice to reach your goal?
Ø In what circumstances would you stop reaching for your goal?

If you really want something, really really want it, then you will never quit, no matter what the circumstances are! If you really want to reach a goal, you will find the means! Where there's a will, there's a way!

Your desire is the fire that provides you with the energy to reach your goals and to excel.You know that a little fire does not provide enough warmth or energy. It is thus extremely important that there is a strong fire burning within you that provides you with the necessary energy to reach your goal.

When your desire to reach your goal is weak or mediocre, you won't muster enough energy to get there and you will quit half way.

An intense desire will always get you closer to your goal. If you don't reach your goal, it's because your desire is not intense enough!

This intense desire is your passion : a burning desire to achieve something and to excel. If you are not sure whether your desire is strong enough, do the following exercise : take a piece of paper and write down all the reasons why you want to reach this goal. Make a list of all the benefits you can imagine. Answer this question: WHY would you like to reach your goal? What is the gain, the pleasure that you will get? What are the benefits that make it worth the effort?

Write down all the benefits that you will get when you reach your goal. Write down at least 10 ways in which you will personally benefit. The more reasons you find, the more powerful is your desire!

It's a good idea to read these benefits every morning. This will help you stay connected with your goal during the day, and you will be all the more motivated and inspired. Desire wins over obstacles. No matter what is stopping you from reaching your goal, a strong and intense desire will always overcome the obstacles.

To reach your goal, you need to do more than just write it down. You need to feel a burning desire to have, to become, and to do what you want. Your desire needs to be very intense in order to fuel your energy to keep you moving forward without giving up! What is this desire, this passion? It is what makes people work for hours, from early in the morning till late in the evening. Their desire dominates their conversations, their thoughts and their actions.

Take some time to consider this : do you really want to reach your goal so badly that you will never quit under any circumstance?

by Ineke Van Lint

Hiring to Fit Your Corporate Culture

Much has been made of the concept of corporate culture in recent years. Culture is an elusive quality of an organization and may best be defined as the collection of habits and beliefs that spell out, often unwritten, “the way we do things around here,” to put it casually.

However, as elusive culture is to define, most management experts agree that a strong culture is an essential ingredient for success. Some companies value high achievement as a culture. Other companies feel that creativity and diversity of opinion are important features of their culture. Some companies operate in a very lean, cost-conscious manner.

The goal of finding people who fit the corporate culture is far from unique. Many businesses today are investing time and effort into finding and hiring employees who fit with their organization's style.

DEFINING A UNIQUE CULTURE

When people say they have a `culture,' it's a nebulous thing. Even though it is hard to do, defining the organization’s unique culture in some way makes it possible to hire people that ‘fit’ that unique culture.

Unfortunately, many organizations can't adequately define their cultures and so miss out on employing people who easily integrate themselves with “the way we do things.”Finding the correct balance between shared values and different points of view can be challenging. It requires a clear understanding of the organization's values and agreement on those values. It also requires that those values are exemplified and used as standards of behaviour at every stage of the hiring process -from recruitment and hiring, to training, to promotion and termination decisions. It's not an easy task.

Hiring based on shared values is great -as long as the values are apparent to everyone in the company. Unfortunately, many companies either cannot articulate their values or confuse them with their goals and objectives.

Goals are defined as what the organization intends to do and values provide the guidelines for getting there in a moral and ethical manner. Values are absolutely critical to success, but most companies don't know what those values are. They're more intent on where they're going, not on how they're going to get there.

Organizations that fail to identify their core values are bound to keep missing the mark with every new hire. Hiring employees that are a poor ‘fit’ with the culture is a certain prescription for turnover and performance problems.

Careful Use of Culture

Having a clear sense of one’s own corporate culture enables the organization to screen potential employees against it. However, it is important to ensure that the recruiters understand the difference between trying to hire someone that meets professional and cultural needs and hiring based on stereotypes and first impressions.

Putting together a workforce that is too similar may lead to a tendency to repeat the familiar and not hire people who will stir things up and make change possible. If the corporate culture is dysfunctional, the corporation will inevitably hire dysfunctional people. If the company is managed through intimidation, it will only hire either people who are submissive, or people are bullies themselves.

In using culture and values in hiring, what one is really trying to do is ensure that recruiting mistakes are minimized and workforce effectiveness is increased. This is done by getting people who think about things in a different and sometimes more creative way and who hold similar values as the organization.

Skills vs. Fit

Hiring for the right skills is still very important to the success of an organization. If you don’t have the right skills, then no amount of cultural ‘fit’ will help you succeed. If you can identify the skills that successful employees will need to bring to your workplace every day then you will be able to build a strong skills-based company. Adding the cultural ‘fit’ side of the equation is the icing on the cake.

The Right Balance

Hiring for fit requires a fine balancing act. You have to obtain the best skills and competencies you can find while at the same time finding the right fit with your culture. Hiring for culture and values fit ensures that the prospective employee shares the same attitude and orientation as your organization. Value and culturally driven organizations work hard to protect and enhance their unique culture. It is only sensible to try to find people who will help you move the culture forward.

Finally, the balancing of diverse viewpoints with the common culture is just trying to get everyone on the same page while allowing for different perceptions. Holding fast to the core values while hiring great skills and creating a climate where diversity of opinion and ideas is truly a winning combination.
 
 Article by David A. Bratton

Importance of Team Building

Good teamwork in any organization is of vital organization. It can make things happen better than anything else in an organization although talented people are required in any organization but its proper team spirit with which many organizations succeed. There have been instances where companies might be filled with multi - talented individuals but the problem which lies is the ineffective utilization of the resources and lack of harmony in the team. Many theories represent how empowered teams work better and portray excellent results. Empowering people is nothing but the attitude and behavior of the employers towards their employees rather than the system and the tools which are used in the organization.

The McGregor’s X and Y theory represents what kind of model is essential for the success of any organization and which model in the organization will have a greater impact in building effective teams. He has explained his theory with two basics splits of Theory X and theory Y. Theory X states that the use of authoritarian leadership, a repressive style of management, tight control leads to a situation where there is no development and it produces limited and a depressed culture where the performance of the staff declines and there prevails lots of frustration. Theory X prescribes what method of management style should not be followed and on the other hand he has prescribed theory Y where he states what kind of management should be incorporated in the organization. He states that a flourishing organization can be established if a liberating approach is followed. Exercising control, continuous improvement can be gained by enabling, empowering and giving responsibility.

McGregor’s theory is an excellent strategy which can be used for the benefit of any organization. It enables us to understand that good team work can be accomplished by respecting your employees, encouraging them to flourish, building a kind of enthusiasm towards the work, caring for the employees or showing a matter of concern towards them, not exploiting them or dictating terms to them. The innate thought behind the theory which can be drawn is the love and spirituality which enables mutual respect, compassion, and the humanity to work. People working in a team are a very powerful force than the skills, processes, procedures and systems which are followed. Because no business function with the individual efforts of one person it is always group of people who with their coordination are able to initiate activities and the processes. Good teams are developed only when the team members decide that they would work for themselves. It’s always the passion level and the eagerness to achieve success that brings surprising results; same is the case with a good team development.

- By: shijin

Leading people through change
 
These are trying times for us all, and none of us should underestimate the anxiety that exists, nor the stagnating inertia it creates. As I have said before, the companies that recognise this and help their employees get through the cycle as quickly as possible will be the ones who come through the current crisis fastest and strongest. In fact there is a statistic that is relevant here - that every month taken off the time it takes for a workforce to collectively get through the cycle is worth 20% of pre-crisis profits. Most companies will suffer a fall in profits in this downturn, but just imagine if you could lead your workforce through from Denial to Acceptance in 2 months not 6 - the prize is 80% of your pre-crisis profits.

Ah, I hear you ask, where did I find such a compelling statistic? Well, like 90% of all statistics, I made it up on the spot. But you take my point.

Consider the case of JCB this week. Orders have fallen 65% in the last month - a cataclysmic drop. Their response? To get their workforce together, explain the facts and ask them for their help. The result? A 100% backing from the (unionised) workforce for an across the board pay cut and a cancelling of the Christmas bonus. The company spokesman put forward to the media to discuss the move was one of the Union reps, who spoke almost proudly of the workforce's decision. A revelation? Not at all - simply the mark of a company that is well led.

So what can you do? Well, here are some tips - I will list "Action you should take", "Complaints you will get" and "Responses you should make" for each of the 5 steps.

Step 1 Shock and Denial (notice that people trying to pretend that this is not really happening or that things are not as bad as you are making out is perfectly natural at this stage)

Action you should take - give crystal clear communications and explanations of the facts; set new objectives and make it clear that these are non-negotiable; make unequivocal decisions and communicate them clearly. Complaints you will hear - that it's not fair; that it's not their fault so why should they suffer; that you have caused this so you should sort it out; that it cannot be as bad as you are making out. Responses you should make - keep repeating the facts and the new objectives you are setting; keep repeating the decisions you have made; you can apologise but do not over-do this as this will only detract from the decisions you are announcing and play up to the sense that you are to blame; talk to all employees face-to-face as they will at least respect the fact that you are not avoiding the discomfort.

Step 2 Anger (notice that people getting angry and frustrated is perfectly natural at this stage)

Action you should take - get people talking about how they feel about the decision, and what difficulties they will have in carrying out the new decisions; do not shirk from the anger they may vent at you personally and at the collective leadership. Complaints you will hear - that you have not thought through the decision; that you don't understand the difficulties it will create, otherwise you would not have made the decision; that it's always the employees who pay for management mistakes. Responses you should make - listen, listen and listen; acknowledge the emotions; empathise with the difficulties they will face in executing the decision; thank them for their passion and honesty; but never patronise

Step 3 Dialogue and Bargaining (notice that people wanting you to soften your decision or reduce the impact is natural at this stage)

Action you should take - ask the employees to list all the difficulties they can foresee and then ask them questions about how they will go about solving the problems they have identified; ask them what they need in order to move forward. Complaints you will hear - that you are asking them now when it's too late - when you've already made your mind up; that it's not their job to think up all the solutions to a problem that you have created; that you are asking them what they need and then denying them the resources they ask for. Responses you should make - keep them talking; focus on any and every positive response you get no matter how small; ask further questions when they come up with answers on what they need; reward any and every tiny forward movement

Step 4 Depression and Detachment (notice that people seeming disconnected and like they don't care any more is natural at this stage)

Action you should take - give the employees time between meetings and discussion sessions; allow them not to interact or respond to your questions; show them it's ok to be quiet; sit with them in their silence. Complaints you will hear - (well, not many obviously as they're depressed!); that it's all too difficult; that maybe they should give up; that they are not capable of achieving what you are asking of them. Responses you should make - gentle encouragement; acceptance of their emotions; belief in their abilities; generation of team spirit

Step 5 Acceptance (notice that people becoming more positive and taking initiative is natural at this stage)

Action you should take - insist upon accountability; refresh performance management systems; get back to running 'business as usual'. Complaints you will hear - the normal ones you always used to hear. Responses you should make - praise and recognition; renewed commitment to openess and honesty about performance; visible signs of investment in the future, however small

Left to their own devices, a workforce might take months if not some years to come through this cycle, since the lack of appropriate leadership simply reinforces to the employees that they might be better off fighting the company. It goes without saying that superb leadership and conscious references to the cycle by leaders in their daily strategy evaluations will bring a dramatic speeding up - potentially to a period of just afew short weeks, if not DAYS. The really good news however is that even clumsy attempts by leaders to recognise the cycle and to lead in some of the ways mentioned above can work wonders, because actually all employees really want is to work for leaders who care. If you REALLY care about your employees then you will be prepared to do the work that is required above. It's not comfortable. It takes thought, planning, attention and care. You will feel like you are taking 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. You will feel rejected and hurt when people seemingly go back a stage. But this is where the cycle can really help us, because it makes it clear for us that, just at the point where we feel like things are regressing, they are in fact moving forward. It's frustrating when employees want to have an argument with you over the details, when you have told them over and over that there's no room for negotiation. Yet they are bargaining with you, and thus they are half way through the cycle. It's even more frustrating when they go quiet just at the point where they have started to get animated again and actually engage with you as a human being and not as some dog turf they stepped in. But grasshopper, do not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, since their detachment is the dark hour just before the dawn. And that is worth waiting for........

Professional Personal Development - What is it? 

We think the term 'training' is too restrictive, and we only use it because that is the context within which many organisations can understand what we do. But whether you call it people skills training, interpersonal skills training, soft skills training or professional personal development, what we're talking about is people changing what they do in order to be more effective, more able and quite simply, happier at their job and in their personal lives.

What we do know is that people take on new behaviours best when there is a parallel shift in their personal development. Interpersonal skills aren't just something you use at the workplace and then leave at the office when you go home. The whole person is what's important, and any programme Impact Factory creates has stuff in it that people can use in all aspects of their lives.

Individuals need to be skilled in what they can do to positively affect the outcome of any kind of communication. This is true if the communication is a presentation to 500 people, an annual review with a staff member, the initiation of new work practices - indeed anything that requires one person to be in communication with others.

In the simplest terms, being able to communicate effectively means relating well to other people. It means being able to listen and really hear what others are saying. Part of being a good listener is knowing how to respond without stonewalling or hijacking other people's ideas.

It also means being able to convey information, feedback and requests clearly and directly, give appropriate levels of praise and advice and take responsibility for making sure things are understood. This means that people must be able and willing to deal with conflict and confrontation. Conflict resolution can be effectively achieved by negotiating what is known as 'win/win' solutions.

There is not one 'right' way to communicate, but there are certainly many 'wrong' ones. Impact Factory's development work concentrates on what's already working about an individual's interpersonal skills and developing that. Gaining insight and awareness about the effect they have on others, coupled with developing specific tools and techniques for managing people, puts people more in charge of the communication process.

So why do we need it?

There have been changes in every sector where people are being asked to do more and take on more responsibility, often with less support than ever before. As a direct result of these kinds of pressures, dealing with difficult people or situations can be more problematic. Time constraints, deadline constraints and fewer people to do more work, means that communication may suffer, conflicts stay unresolved, dissatisfaction fester, tempers get frayed and inefficiency become more prevalent.

On top of that, there is an insidious assumption that if you are good at what you do - professionally - then you will be, ipso facto, a good manager, communicator, delegator, etc. That simply isn't true. We see this across all business sectors: people who are highly capable in their jobs but are far less adept at dealing with other people. Conflict arises because not only does the organisation assume that if you're good in one aspect of the job you'll be good in all, but you yourself may feel you already 'ought' - by dint of your position - to be able to handle difficult situations and therefore, won't ask for the support and training you need.

Some organisations have such issues well in hand and have the kind of company culture in place that supports peoples' development. More often than not, however, organisations ignore or sideline these issues with the outcome that communication suffers and morale gets worse.

Yet if employees are motivated, confident, communicating well and resolving differences; if they are being acknowledged and appreciated, then stress is reduced, people are more efficient and effective and work means more than a place to earn a paycheque. In our experience within organisations where these skills are encouraged and developed, there is a profound affect on employees' performance and their overall well-being, and a corresponding increase in the bottom line.

The economic implications of poor people skills in the workplace are far greater than many organisations would like to admit. We are often approached by the Occupational Health Departments of companies who say they are seeing more and more people with stress-related illnesses and absences and are aware that good training could make a significant difference in the health, morale and therefore efficiency of the staff. The cliché 'time is money' exists for a very good reason. If for nothing else, a better functioning workforce will affect the bottom line. Time wasted on poor communication, unresolved difficulties or inefficient work practises means time away from the core business of doing what the company does best.

Many companies know there are issues that need to be addressed; they even know that some kind of people skills training could help.

There doesn't have to be a problem

The need for development work does not presuppose a problem. When Impact Factory provides this kind of training for many companies we aren't there to 'fix' something that's wrong.

Given the added pressures in today's workplace, companies are not necessarily asking us to provide training to alleviate stress or correct a problem. Rather they are looking for excellence not competence. They are interested in gaining a competitive edge, offering their employees additional skills to develop their current capabilities and become both more accomplished and more confident.

So, why don't more people do it?

Here are some refrains we've heard more than once:

"We tried something like this before and it didn't work." - "It's clearly not right for us." - "We don't need it." - "It's a waste of time and money." - "If we're going to invest in training, we'd rather have technical training." "We'll never get buy-in from our senior managers."

If you look at the way some interpersonal skills training is done it's no wonder it's got a bad reputation. A lot of it follows what might be called the sheep-dip approach: large groups; all chalk 'n' talk and little participation; lots of rigid rules and regulations; a damaging emphasis on what's wrong with people; and unreal examples and exercises. That kind of training is de-motivating and often does more harm than good.

Lists of how tos, dos and don'ts and sets of rigid rules treat everyone the same. The individual becomes less important than the 'right' way to do something. Of course, there needs to be structure and guidelines in any kind of training, but if the training does not allow for individual needs and priorities then, ultimately, it will fail to develop the individual.

If people have had inadequate training, they will in turn feel inadequate when confronted with additional stress. The training will not have given them the real tools and techniques that could help them manage this pressure more effectively. Some assertiveness training is a good case in point, where people are told specific things to do in certain difficult situations. Which is all very well if you are capable of doing them. However, we know that for many people assertiveness training doesn't work. The solutions they are given are not things they feel able to do.

Not only that, there are training companies now offering interpersonal skills training over the Internet! Wow! We've said it before, but it bears repeating, this way the sheep don't even have to leave the meadow, they can be dipped right at their desks. We're truly fascinated with interpersonal skills training that doesn't have other people to be interpersonal with.

If people are treated and respected as the professional adults they are. The results can be startling, exciting and effective.
 
By: Robin Chandler

Putting work into reforming the system

Role of Management in Quality

Many managers begin with the assumptions that where is a quality problem, the workers or some individual (manager or worker) is to blame. One of the hallmarks of a TQM approach is the questioning of assumptions. TQM implies that when there is a quality problem it begins in the boardroom and in the offices of the senior managers and others who do not take quality seriously enough. Deming is considered as a pioneer of Total Quality Management. For instance, Deming believes that until the system that is the cause of a particular failure in quality can be identified, management cannot do its job. It is every manager’s job to seek out and correct the causes of failure rather than merely identify failures after they occur and affix blame to someone. Probably the most famous of all Deming’s sayings is that 85 percent of an organization’s problems come from the systems and 15 percent from the workers.

When asked why Ford had made such progress on quality, Deming responded that the senior managers believed it was the most important part of their job, and acted on that belief. At Motorola, then CEO Robert Galvin ensured that quality issues were placed first on all executive board meeting agendas. He would leave shortly after quality issues were discussed before company financial performance was briefed. Galvin insists he spent 50 percent of his time on quality issues. The former CEO of Xerox, David Kearns, would hold up product launches for the most minor quality flaws, despite protests from sales organization. Roger Milliken, the CEO of Milliken and Company made certain that senior management, himself included, received comprehensive quality training before training lower level employees.

Employee Participation:

Having the support and attention of senior management remains a necessary condition for making TQM work in an organization, but without empowered employees it won’t go very far. Empowerment stands for a substantial change that businesses are implementing. It means letting employees make decisions at all levels of an organization without asking for approval from managers. The idea is quite simple: people who actually do a job whether it is running a complex machine or providing a simple service, are in the best position to learn how to do that job the best way. Therefore, when there is chance to improve the job or the systems of which a job is a part, people should make those improvements without asking for permission.

In 1985, there were 23 people in Velcro’s quality department. Most employees believed that quality was the responsibility of the quality department. To change this attitude top management empowered rank-and-file workers with the authority and tools necessary to improve quality. Velcro management opened channels of communication with workers on the factory floor. Quality became everyone’s job. By 1988, waste had been reduced by over 73 percent as a percentage of total manufacturing expenses. During the same time period, the number of people in the quality department dropped to 12 and their responsibilities shifted from inspection to teaching coaching and empowering.

The new GM Saturn plant in Tennessee represents GM’s all-out effort to out do Japanese competitors by implementing American TQM. Decisions are made by teams of people who will be affected by the decision. Every decision must receive at least 70 percent support from all of the team members; failing this, all parties must bring additional facts to the meeting. If the company does not meet its quality goals all members including managers, can lose up to 20 percent of their pay. In addition, employees can receive rewards for exceeding goals.

Seattle-based Satisfaction Guaranteed Eateries empowers its front line employees to take responsibility for actions once reserved for managers. Employees of the company’s five restaurants have been given the authority do what it takes to satisfy disgruntled customers. This policy, applying even to bush boys, allows front line employees to order free drinks or even pick up the entire dinner check for dissatisfied customers.

Solving the Problem or Finding the Guilty
 Which is More Effective Leadership? 

Which describes your leadership: Do you actively search for solutions to problems or do you spend your energy searching for the parties to blame?

We have developed into a blaming society. Mom blames the older siblings when problems arise in the household. Teacher finds someone to blame when things go out of control in the class room. Management and unions blame each other. Political parties use blame in the extreme, and it is disruptive, subordinating national goals under political aims. Spouses unfortunately play the blame game to the destruction of marriages and families. Experts in many realms teach that making things better should be the focus of our energies. The barrier to this is blame.

Blame is the process of assigning responsibility for an event on another. Various emotions drive the blame, and it results in loss of face, embarrassment, fear and anger. It is unpleasant for all parties concerned. The language of blame and problem solving is distinctively different, and a study of real life situations could be constructive for managers hoping to rise above the cauldron of anger and blame. A manager may assign responsibility for a task without assigning blame. And you can hold someone accountable for results without blaming. The distinction is in the language and tone of the message. Robert Bacal, consultant from Casselman, Ontario gives some helpful scenarios:

Blame - 'If you had done your work on time, we wouldn't be in this mess.'

Factual statement - 'Your responsibility is to fulfill your work commitments on time. When your work wasn't available, I had to speak to the boss without the information I needed.'

The factual statement is the prelude to problem solving. The blame statement is bound to cause sparks to fly. Problem solving is focused on the present and the future. The goal is fixing a present problem and seeking to prevent it in the future.

Problem solving lacks the emotions of blaming, and it is less personal and more systems oriented. The problem solving process needs an understanding of the past and an understanding of the root causes of issues. It may include:

Clarifying the problem, goal or purpose

Collecting data, gain understanding

Diagnose, identify sources of problem

Formulate hypotheses for cause

Formulate a strategy for solution

Evaluate, collect more data

Note that assigning of blame is not part of the process. Neither is there room for emotional upheavals. Solving problems requires the use of a process, much of which was created by Deming. TQM, the quality system of modern companies, provides the structure and knowledge on how to solve problems the efficient way. Whether you are pursuing continuous improvement, organizational reinforcement, or improving performance on various levels, the issue of blame vs. problem solving is critical.

When problems occur, such as lack of performance, failure to meet commitments, etc, and you need to intervene, use problem solving. Begin by trying to understand the problem and underlying issues with the employee. Poor performance can be the result of boredom, stress, limited skills or knowledge, or other systems issues such as equipment or authority. Working with the employee to attack the root problem will help avoid it in the future. The focus is on the future. Additional scenarios by Robert Bacal:

Blame

Mgr: John, you should have let me know this work would not be ready for the meeting. We looked like idiots and it's going to be hard to be difficult to recover.

John: I tried to tell you, but you were on vacation. And I forgot. You are very hard to get a hold of, you know.

Mgr: You could have called me at home.

John: I didn't want to bother you. You said not to call unless it was urgent.

The manager attacks, and the employee defends. This could end up with attacks flying back and forth. The situation is not pleasant. Now look at how it could have gone:

Problem Solving

Mgr: John, I was expecting to have the brief from you before my meeting. We need to figure out what happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again. Was I not clear on the date, or was there some other thing that caused us to miss the deadline?

John: Well, I might have misunderstood about the urgency, and when you went on vacation, I didn't want to bother you at home.

Mgr: OK, well, how does this sound. If I need something on an urgent basis, I'll make sure that I tell you in the future. I can also let people know when it is OK to call me at home, so it will be easier. I am also going to ask you to please keep me informed, though on projects like this we won't be embarrassed again. Does this make sense?

John: Yes, and I have more input that may be useful....

You can feel the difference in the dialogues. The problem solving dialogue is neutral aimed at finding where the problem lies and works to prevent reoccurrence. Of course, it may not go this smoothly, and it is oversimplified.

Modeling problem solving in everything you do, staff meetings and other gatherings, is an excellent habit to form. When in a conference, and blame raises its ugly head, redirect with 'what can we do, then, in the future?' Seek a problem solving attitude when blame is assigned during a meeting. When you start doing this you begin to create a blameless culture, a responsible culture that discourages empty complaints that will put you in the middle of other people's disputes.

It can be a difficult road from blame to problem solving becasue some will not see the difference. For some, being responsible also means to be at fault. When blame raises its head, return to the problem, ask diagnostic questions, begin to find root causes, and avoid being drawn into the blame game. In time, some people will begin to see the difference and trust that you are not blaming but attempting to fix the problem.

By: Christine Casey Cooper

The 7 best stress management techniques
 

The best stress management techniques are those that are easy to use. Quick to learn and quick to implement, you can use them to manage your own stress levels or teach them to help others manage theirs.

Stress management techniques help you control of your stress and be a healthier, happier and more pleasant person to be around. Let’s cut to the chase and spell out the best ones I know…  
 

Download it now 

1. Acknowledge stress is good

Make stress your friend! Based on the body’s natural “fight or flight” response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. I’ve yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.

2. Avoid stress sneezers

Stressed people sneeze stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you are infected too!

Protect yourself by recognising stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you’ve got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage themselves.

3. Learn from the best

When people around are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?

Figure it out from afar or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.

4. Practice socially acceptable heavy breathing

You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing. Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel more normal.

5. Give stressy thoughts the red light

It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. “If this happens, then that might happen and then we’re all up the creek!” Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly?

Give stress thought-trains the red light and stop them in their tracks. Okay so it might go wrong – how likely is that, and what can you do to prevent it?

6. Know your trigger points and hot spots

Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines……. My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down!

Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?

Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, as you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to de-caf?

7. Burn the candle at one end

Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it’s often ignored as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and don’t burn the candle at both ends!

And those are the best stress management techniques I know! Learn them, use them and teach them, and be a great stress manager.

By Lyndsay Swinton

The Eight Key Principles for Communication Strategy

 1. Ensure the CEO is the Champion of Communication and the
    Champion Communicator!
 
The rules for the CEO?
Communicate frequently and in person
Be willing to address challenging questions
Listen carefully – deal with the concerns
Respond quickly to sensitive topics
As a CEO:

Do you have a vision for your organisation that is easily explained?
Do you regularly talk to staff about it?
People need to feel they belong.  They need an icon.  The CEO should fill this role.

2.      Match actions and words
Actions speak louder than words.  People will judge your performance, not on what you say, but what you do.  Organisations who sprout values such as “Our people are our greatest asset”, then lay-off staff at the first major downturn in the economy, are sending very mixed messages.

3.      Ensure your communication is two-way
If an organisation is serious about internal communication, then it should devote as much time and resources to upward communication as it do to downward communication. Staff opinion surveys are often quoted as one way of providing upward feedback.  They do provide upward feedback, but it depends on how well this feedback is managed.  The most often quoted comment from employees about their lack of faith in surveys is that “nothing ever happens as a result”.

4.      Place emphasis on face-to-face communication
There’s a saying that goes “It’s not what you say, but the way that you say it”.  This has a ring of truth to it, particularly when a CEO is addressing the staff.  As one employee said recently.“I didn’t understand a lot of what he said, but it did give me the chance to take the measure of the man, to look him in the eye, ask some questions and see how he responded”

On the other hand, what you say is also important.  For example a CEO needs to talk about the “big picture”, the “future” and in broad terms about how the organisation is progressing when addressing the front line staff.  Whereas, when talking with his/her senior managers, he/she needs to not only talk about the big picture and the future, but specifics on current and projected performance.For all managers in organisations, face-to-face communication is one of the most important facets of management.  As one manager put it: 

“You get to be seen as a person who understands what’s happening, someone who is cognisant of other’s feelings, some one who doesn’t have all the answers but is willing to listen and learn.  Someone who has a vision so that his/her people will say ‘I’ll give this person a go.  He/she seem to have an interest in me.  I’ll see how it goes’”Face-to-face communication does not obviate the need for other forms of communication.  Yet other forms of communication cannot substitute for face-to-face.
5.Ensure responsibility for communication is shared

Communication (downward, horizontally and upward) must be the responsibility of all managers, not just the CEO.  Staff needs to be encouraged and supported to accept the responsibility for upward and horizontal communication.For example, a manager’s responsibility is not to be an expert in all aspects of every corporate issue, but he/she must be able to explain why decisions have been made and how they will affect his/her people.

To test the “communication responsibility” level in your organisation, can you answer the following questions positively?Do all your Position Descriptions have “communication:” as a key responsibility?
Do your managerial performance agreements or contracts include “communication” as a KRA? Are managers recognised for communicating well and counselled or penalised for not communicating?
Are staff at all levels encouraged and supported to give critical upward feedback?
Does your organisation see training as one of your key communication channels?
6. Deal with the “bad” news as well as the “good”

We often communicate only the good news in an organisation, but it is equally important to communicate the bad news.  Bad news comes in many forms, for example:
Service or quality problems
Delays
Customer complaints
Criticism from external sources and so on.
 
7.Serve the audience’s needs as well as your own

Often we think of the message as “Now hear this!  We want you to know . . .”  From a sender’s perspective, this is important.  However, if communication is going to be effective we also need to answer the receiver’s request “This is what we need to know . . . “ 
8. Design your communication strategy to suit your organisation

Communication is a PROCESS not a PRODUCT.  Newsletters, memos, videos, publications, meetings, team-briefings, the intranet, may all have an important part to play in your organisation’s communication strategy.  Be sure that you understand why each is being used, ie. what will it cover and what will it achieve?

In designing your strategy, apply the following groundrules.

Rule 1: Ensure all communication includes not only WHAT is happening
but also WHY and HOW.

Rule 2: Be timely – communicate what can be communicated immediately.  Don’t wait to cross all the “t’s” and dot all the “i’s”

Rule 3: Link the big picture with the little picture.  Ensure that people understand how the big picture affects them and their jobs.

Rule 4: Don’t tell people how they should feel about the news (avoid statements such as “this is exciting for us all …”) Communicate the “who, what, when, why and how” and let people make up their own minds about how they feel.

Rule 5: Match the message to the medium.  e.g. face-to-face is good for people issues, whereas the intranet and email is totally inappropriate.  If the message is likely to affect people emotionally, the only medium should be face-to-face.  If this is impossible, then a fallback is the phone or video & audio hook-up – NEVER email or intranet.
Rule 6: Build a feedback loop into your strategy.  Actively encourage people to provide upward and horizontal feedback.
 
The author, Bob Selden

The Importance of Knowing Where Your Time Goes?

Ask any 20 people about the pressures of time. They will likely respond with the typical stories of: I am missing deadlines, I work long hours, I am not spending enough time with family or friends, or I just can't seem to get everything done. A common reason is that there just isn't enough time.

"Where does my time go?", one person asked me. He was one of the few to have the discipline to find out.

A time log will tell you where you are spending your time, which will give you greater power in taking control of your time.

For example, think of your current household budget. It is very hard to plan and control your future spending if you don't have a clear idea of your current spending habits. The same goes for spending your time.

A time log gives you an honest and objective benchmark of your time. How much time are you currently spending in meetings, surfing the web, talking on the phone, watching TV?

You may be surprised or even shocked at the information a time log gives you.

A client of ours, Kathy who is a university professor, was having trouble doing her core tasks at university, which was teaching and publishing. Kathy used a time log for three days, and realized that little of her time was spent doing her top priority tasks.

Actually, Kathy was shocked to see that 3 hours of her day was spent dealing with phone calls and emails on largely administrative tasks. No wonder she didn't have enough time in the day to get her work done.

After completing her time log, Kathy realized that she could easily delegate the administrative tasks to her secretary - which has freed up 3 hours a day for more productive work.

The point I am trying to make is that a time log will show you opportunities for improvement in managing your time. It is one of the first and most important steps in time management.

In fact, it would be tedious and boring, if it was not for the insights that a time log can give you.
A time log will show you whether your time usage reflects your priorities. For example, are you spending a large amount of your time on your key functions or important tasks?

A time log will show you what your biggest time wasters are. For Kathy, it was mundane and routine administrative tasks that could have easily been delegated. For other people it is poor procrastination habits or constant interruptions - everyone is different.

A time log will show you whether your work can be done in a better way. For example an analyst that we were working for was writing the same reports each month. We advised that he develop Excel macros that could automate the creation of these recurring reports.

The point is that there are three ways that you can make better use of your time. These are to work on higher priority tasks, get somebody to do some of what you are doing now, or be more efficient in the use of your time.

A time log can get you to focus on these different areas and improve your personal effectiveness.

By: Kell Shaun

The Path Towards Perfection

 
Complacency.

Almost everyone faces or feels complacent at some time. And the longer an organization has worked to improve processes, and the more success they have achieved, the more likely this obstacle will become a problem. Leaders must acknowledge, face and overcome the comfort zone success creates and the complacency that comes with it.
 
The Five Faces of Complacency

• Champions. Champions are looking at the process and the competition and singing "We are the Champions!" The prevailing attitude often is that once you reach number one, there is no more need for growth. Even a cursory historical view of champions in sports shows the fallacy of this mindset. More directly, let`s look at industry.Of the twelve stocks that composed the original Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) only General Electric remains - and many of the remaining eleven stocks aren’t in existence in any form. Clearly employees and leaders of those other eleven companies would have had the "right" to consider themselves Champions, and yet look at their fate. Of the current 30 stocks composing the DJIA, 8 have been added (which means 8 have been removed!) within the last ten years.The message is clear. If the complacency of being the Champion invades your thinking, not only are you unlikely to continue to engage earnestly in process improvement and optimization, but your supremacy is in peril.

• Resigned. Some people think this is "as good as it gets." Even when people look at how far they have come and see the progress that has been made they still believe that they have gotten all the improvement that is possible. They become resigned to the fact and a certain "what`s the use" attitude prevails - even when shown data that supports room for growth.This face of complacency can show up in two forms: "we’ve done all we can do" or "we’ll never be as good as [insert the name of company or competitor here]". Either way, this feeling keeps people from engaging in process improvement activities because, in their mind, there’s no point since the effort won`t produce the desired results.

• Comfortable. You know what it feels like to be comfortable - whether on a beach chair or in your job. When you are comfortable, you don’t really want anything to change. Life is good. Profits are fine. Results continue to be comfortable.
When you feel this way, your comfort zone becomes your only beacon. After all, why would you want to improve/change things, when you are so comfortable?

• Tired. Maybe the climb to the current level of performance has been long and arduous. Maybe the process improvement has cost jobs or created other changes that weren`t seen as completely positive. How willing are you to hop into a car for a several hundred mile drive after just driving 400 miles? When great physical, mental and emotional energy has been exerted to get to where you are, you naturally can be tired. And when you are tired, your energy and appetite for more exertion is sapped.Teams and individuals can get tired, and when leaders push for the next rung of improvement too quickly, fatigue can be a problem. Unfortunately, fatigue also can be misdiagnosed as the final face of complacency.

• Lazy. It is easier to stay the course, not change the process, and let things work the way they are. Even when there is an occasional bobble or problem, it is typically viewed as easier to stay the course than to work to improve the process. When people are seeing the world this way, it will be hard to generate energy or action towards continued process improvement/optimization.An important side note here: Just because people are feeling lazy or not wanting to exert effort at this particular time on this particular issue, doesn’t make them "lazy" all of the time. Be careful with this label, both verbally and in your internal judgment.

These are distinct mindsets and can be diagnosed separately, but remember that one person could be afflicted by more than one of them. And, one of these mindsets may be the prevalent concern for your team or organization, it is not likely that everyone within the group is feeling the same way. Rather, it`s very likely that you’ll be facing all of them within the same team or organization at the same time.Your challenge as a leader is to identify the form(s) of complacency you are dealing with and to create a plan for overcoming each. Let`s explore the tools you can use to do just that.

Tools For Overcoming Complacency

Fortunately the tools for dealing with the five faces of complacency are clear and well defined.
Recognition. You must first come to understand the sources of the resistance people have to continued process improvement. Resistance can be passive or active, and/or spoken or silent. Using the five faces described above can give you language and a way to understand the sources of resistance you are seeing. Use your skills of questioning, listening and observation to attempt to determine people’s reasons for concern or disengagement.
Acknowledgement. While you may not see the world they way others do (i.e. they may feel they are champions, but you see things differently), their perception is their reality. So, trying to convince people of a new perspective by simply telling them they are wrong, or see things incorrectly, isn`t likely to create your intended persuasive result. Rather, let them know you understand their perspective, even if you don’t agree with it. Acknowledge their position as a jumping off point for further discussion.
Conversation. You will not be successful in dealing with or overcoming the various forms of complacency by creating a masterful PowerPoint presentation. Even the best PowerPoint slides imply one-way communication. To understand and overcome the resistance of complacency, you must create dialogue. Listen to people`s points of view and come to new agreements based on a mutual understanding of each perspective.

Shared Vision. Perhaps the most powerful way to overcome complacency is to keep a clear picture of a desired future in front of everyone. Regardless if the previous vision of success has been reached, when you keep people focused on a vision of a future state that benefits them, they will overcome their own fatigue, arrogance, resignation and more. Notice that the idea here is a shared vision; simply stating the vision from your (or the company`s or the stockholder’s) perspective isn’t enough.

Why. People who are tired, lazy, too comfortable or feeling like champions tend to focus on the how`s and the what`s. They focus on what actions have to be taken next and they typically don’t want to take those actions for a variety of reasons (depending on the mindset). In order to overcome a how and what focus, you must place people’s view on the why. When you can help people create a compelling why, they will be ready to move forward, regardless of the how`s and what`s. Remember that the most compelling why`s will be focused on the people themselves and the greater good. Consider questions like, how will this process improvement improve the lives of our Customers or impact the communities we live in?

Costs of Change. People see inherent risks in continuing to change and improve. When you can openly discuss their concerns and risks, you can help people overcome those fears and/or eliminate the risks. Understand their costs of change and you can then help change their perspective.As you think about the faces of complacency and consider the tools available to you, you will quickly see what combination of tools will work best for the individual or group with whom you’re working. Remember, though, that it always begins with recognition, acknowledgement and conversation.

The Final Goal

If your goal is to continue to improve and to continue to chase the elusive perfection, then you must keep people free of the complacency that will naturally set in. This challenge ultimately can be stated that you want people to be content (pleased with their progress to date, engaged and enjoying their work), but not satisfied (recognizing that there is always another rung on the ladder of improvement and success).When you can keep this balanced view of content, but not satisfied (first for yourself and then for those you lead), you will have successfully met and tamed the five faces of complacency and provided a major leap forward in your quest for process optimization.Potential Pointer: Complacency is the hidden enemy of improvement. For individuals and organizations to overcome this enemy, we must be content with our present conditions, but not satisfied with where we are.

By: Kevin Eikenberry  

No.1 Time Management Skill: Doing Nothing

You can improve your time management skills by doing nothing. Sounds impossible? Okay you’re right; you have to do something but not very much.

The skill of time management is about knowing what to do and when. And one other important tip, but we’ll share that secret later…..

Got to run, people to see, places to go…

Busy managers are always on the go. They have noisy phones, bursting email inboxes, back-to-back meetings, and they grab lunch on the run. But hang on, if they’re so great, why are they doing so much?

Being busy is not the same as being effective

A key time management skill is knowing what to do and when to do it. Imagine this… The phone rings while you’re answering emails and a colleague is fast approaching your desk. What do you do?

a) Answer the phone, whilst reading your emails. Your colleague will have to wait.
b) Stop everything and talk to your colleague.
c) Ignore the phone and your colleague and keep working on emails.
d) None of the above.

Answer – d) there is no one correct answer!

How could I be so mean to ask a trick question? Simple, I wanted to demonstrate that there are always 101 factors affecting decisions about how best to manage your time. Only you know the right answer.

Tune-up your time management skills
The mental checklist for time management decision-making goes something like this.

1. What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?
2. What deadlines have I got?
3. What happens if I don’t do this? (this is the top time management question :>)

Let’s look at each of these in turn...

What’s most important?

Good relationships with your colleagues, that’s what’s most important. Effective managers make time for people because they know in the long run it will pay back many times more.

Back to the colleague approaching your desk. He just wants to go for coffee... If you’ve got a great relationship with this person, then maybe defer the invitation so you can finish up your emails. If you need to get to know him better or smooth out some conflict, then go for it.

If thinking about relationships in terms of payback seems calculated and ruthless, then get used to it. This is what good time managers do. It is just another time management skill. The 10 minutes spent going for coffee may uncover why you’ve had to chase your colleague for that report and get it resolved then and there.

Is there a deadline?

If deadlines are looming then they win. After all, in olden days a prisoner would be shot if they crossed the deadline! (Don’t you just love the original meanings of words? :>)

But is your deadline negotiable? Can you buy extra time and do it later or de-scope the work and do less but on time? Your careful relationship management will work wonders for you when time is tight.

If the deadline is non-negotiable, quit moaning and go do it, or you’ll get shot!

Back to the ringing phone… It’s shouting loudly, demanding urgent attention. Unless you’re in customer services or expecting an important call, consider using voicemail to your advantage. Avoid switching from “email mode” to “phone mode” and back where possible as it steals time and affects your concentration.

What will happen if….?

Will the world stop turning if you don’t do something or do it in a different way? Don’t fool yourself into being busy by thinking you’re work is invaluable or perfect.

Question the value of everything you do and how you do it.

o Think through your routine tasks or tasks that simply take too much time – are you doing them for a reason or from habit?
o Stop sending that report and see who notices.
o Prepare online answers to “frequently asked questions”.
o Delegate to a colleague.
o Redesign the process.

It may take time to save time, but it’s pays dividends in the long term and makes your job more interesting.

Slow down, you go too fast

I hope you’re getting the idea by now – the sum of all time management skills is knowing what to do and when. Busy managers are not effective managers if they don’t stop and think;

o Is this important?
o Is this urgent?
o Do I have to do this
o Can I do this differently?

Asking these four simple questions will revolutionize your time management skills. Put time in your diary today to become a more effective time manager.

By Lyndsay Swinton

Tips for Problem Solving

There are many situations, both in our personal and professional life, which throw up problems that need specific attention. Think about it, we solve problems and make decisions everyday at home, at work, at play, even at the grocery store! So, are there any ways of doing it any better than we do already?

Some problems and decisions are very challenging and demand a lot of thought, emotion, and research, while others can be very simple to deal with. But if you keep the following tips that we’ve put together for you in mind and apply them, you will find it very easy to solve any kind of problem that you are up against.

1. Positive attitude: Begin with a positive attitude. When we are faced with a problem, our typical reaction is to wonder why such a thing has happened to us. Don’t waste your time in recriminations and self-pity; accept that there is a problem and look at it as a learning opportunity. Do not be afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes, in order to find the best solution to a given problem, you may have to go through a hundred bad solutions first. The most important thing is to accept that it is OK to make mistakes. How else would you learn otherwise?

2. Open mind: When you are faced with a problem, approach the task with an open mind. Don’t assume that there is only one answer and that you already know it. Often, there are multiple solutions to any given problem. Stop for a second and take the time to understand what the problem is truly about before applying a solution. Be open to all possibilities.

3. Global view: Things often look very different when we look at them from a vantage point. Think of it as a “helicopter” view. By looking at the big picture, you might actually be able to understand the problem in its entirety and right context. Once you have done that, you can determine the best course of action.

4. Smaller chunks: If the problem you are facing appears too huge for you to handle all at once, do not fear. Try and break it up into smaller, easily manageable chunks. A problem is like a jigsaw puzzle – when you are confronted with a 1000 pieces, that you have to put together, you can easily feel overwhelmed and give up. But try taking small sections of the puzzle at a time and soon you will have solved the entire problem.

5. Rational thinking: Never approach a problem when you are angry or upset. Emotions or stress can cloud your thinking and judgment. It is best that problems are dealt with logically. Take a step back, calm yourself and think through the problem instead of springing into action when you are all wound up.

Often, working oneself into a frenzy over a problem poses a large hurdle in the way of its resolution. Use your energy thinking about the solutions instead.

- By: akhil shahani